Analytical diagnostics which are made by utilization of electrocardiograms (ECGs) have been generally used for diagnosis and monitoring of various forms of cardiopathologies, such as for patients with implanted pacemakers. As one of existing electrocardiographs, there has been widely used the so-called trans-telephonic monitor for use in trans-telephonic medicine, i.e. the reading of data to be sent, e.g. over the telephone line, to a special facility where the diagnosis is performed remotely at a central facility, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,618 to Gessman for "Apparatus and Method for Remotely Monitoring Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillators", issued Jun. 14, 1994. This is especially useful for the long-term monitoring of patients, with e.g. heart trouble, because it reduces the need for the patient to go to a clinic or hospital. Trans-telephonic medicine and home monitoring is also useful for the control of patients, with e.g. heart trouble, residing in localities without adequate medical facilities.
In the art of electrocardiographic recordings, one of the essential conditions for successful recording is the correct biomedical sensor electrode positioning on the body. Incorrect biomedical sensor electrode positioning can make diagnosis and treatment difficult or erroneous. Typically a specially trained health care professional will demonstrate to a patient the correct placement of the biomedical sensor electrodes. The patient is then expected to be able to correctly position the biomedical sensor electrodes. This can be a problem because patients must remember the correct placement sites, often after a significant amount of time has passed since the initial demonstration.
Each human body is unique, and the placement sites for biomedical sensors vary among individuals. Incorrect electrocardiographic recordings can result if the template is not adaptable to each individual patient. Use of an adjustable vest with built-in biomedical sensor electrodes to provide for correct positioning of the biomedical sensor electrodes has been known in the art. Examples of vests with built-in biomedical sensor electrodes include U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,479 to Sekine for "ECG Diagnostic Pad", issued Jul. 6, 1993, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,149 to Rotolo et al. for "Electrocardiography Electrode Positioning Device", issued Aug. 29, 1995. The vests known in the art also can be uncomfortable. The vests are more intrusive than just biomedical sensor electrodes because they must surround the entire torso to achieve accurate biomedical sensor electrode placement. The vests must also fit the torso tightly to achieve consistent placement of biomedical sensor electrodes.
It would be desirable to provide an inexpensive technique for repetitive and accurate placement of biomedical sensor electrodes for medical diagnosis and at-home patient monitoring. For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an inexpensive, adaptable technique that can be used as a reference for the accurate placement of sensors upon an individual human body, which also facilitate subsequent placement of such biomedical sensor electrodes.